Zentangle and Quilling

Hey there tangling friends!

I've been very busy this week - new tutorial ebook on how to make Distress Inks Style backgrounds in Procreate (get it here) and I've been having huge fun learning about quilling, which is a form of paper art. I've been wanting to try for ages, but never got round to it. It is really fiddly to begin with - making the curls is super easy, but when it comes to sticking it down that's when the fun starts! The tweezers that came with the kit have been invaluable!

My aim has been to quill and tangle together, as I thought they'd go perfectly together. I would love to make a logo for myself  this way.

The pictures below are my first try at quilling and tangling together, plus my first goes at quilling by itself. I'd love to know what you think.

Find the link to my Pinterest board on quilling here

New Tutorial Ebook - Learn How To Make Distress Ink Style Backgrounds in Procreate

Hey there tangling friends!

I'm very excited to share with you my latest ebook tutorial - it's all about using the Procreate App to make Distress Ink style backgrounds, ready for tangling on with the Apple Pencil. It is at a special introductory price, so get your copy now - click here

I have loved making Zentangle Inspired Art on Distress Inked paper tiles in real life and wanted to learn how to make them digitally. This tutorial is the result of me having lots of fun with the Procreate app.

I've had lots of fun trying out colour combinations, different brushes and layers. There really is lots to learn, but the Procreate app is very intuitive and the free handbook makes things nice and easy to understand.

The tutorial ebook will show you which brushes are best to use, how to use those brushes and how to layer the colours and textures to give you the best results. Get it here.

Here are a couple of backgrounds I have made...

Below is a beautiful inky background with a shiny Zengem and some tangle patterns. I have found that it is easier to colour the gem if you fill the gem area with white before you start colouring it. It makes creating the highlights much easier.

Click Here to get my Tutorial Ebook

If you don't have an Etsy account, get in touch and I can do it through PayPal.

Wholehearted Patterns

Hey there tangling friends!

I was looking back through my drawings and came across a couple of my old patterns that I'd completely forgotten about.  So I decided to draw a small A5 size picture with as many of my patterns as I could fit.

Here's the patterns I used from left to right...
Spokies
K9
Fingerbobs
Mallow
Roodee
Kobweb
4Rosie
Kristilis
Panzee
Spiralinka

I'd forgotten about Spiralinka and Kristilis! The step outs for those are below.

Spiralinka is the flower shape just above the Zinger string. 

Find my turquoise gemstone tutorial ebook here.

Find my Pinterest board with all of my patterns and drawing here.

Drawings June 2017

Hey there tangling friends!

Here are my drawings from the first week of June.
I had the theme of Peace in my Facebook group Wholehearted Zen, Gems and Inspiration in collaboration with the Zen n ZIA group. It was something I had been thinking about for a while - learning the words and lettering for Peace in different languages. I wanted to bring us together through our art...different people united by Zentangle. Doesn't matter what we believe, look like, wear, speak. Love is what we do. Peace is what we need.

I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And I will not let what I cannot do interfere with what I can do.
Edward Everett Hale

Peace in Arabic

Darkness cannot drive out darkness;

only light can do that.

Hate cannot drive out hate;

only love can do that.

Hate multiplies hate,

violence multiplies violence,

and toughness multiplies toughness

in a descending spiral of destruction....

The chain reaction of evil --

hate begetting hate,

wars producing more wars --

must be broken,

or we shall be plunged

into the dark abyss of annihilation.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Find my turquoise gem tutorial ebook here.

Digitangles

Hey there tangling friends!

You may have seen recently that I've been tangling digitally using th Procreate app and an Apple Pencil on my iPad. It's a massive learning curve and I feel like a beginner again. There are so many possible settings for colours, different types of brush/pencil/pen to create the most amazing effects. I haven't even begun to delve into all the possibilities, but wanted to try to translate what I do on paper to the iPad.

The one I'm going to share here was created with hand drawn line art, as I wanted to see the differences. I haven't learnt how to do a time lapse video on Procreate, but that's the next step! So, there's loads of progress photos for the digital version and the paper version.

Find Christel Foncke's fabulous digital Zentangle here. And some from Icy8600 here.

Find my Pinterest board dedicated to digital art here.

Roodee - my new design

Hey there tangling friends!

Here is my new design, Roodee, which I have been drawing for a while. I have created a step out, which is rather a long one, but once you get the hang of it, it's fairly simple. The middle area closest to the gem is betweedy - working the lines alternately to build the pattern. Then the outside is basically echo lines, or auras. You can stop drawing before you reach the echo lines to give you a mini Roodee.

Depression, Anxiety and Zentangle

Hey there tangling friends!

It is Mental Health Awareness Week this week and I wanted to share a bit of my story with you. I've suffered with depression, anxiety and post natal depression for the best part of 20 years and I'm currently struggling with crippling anxiety. It keeps me awake. It makes me exhausted. It keeps me stuck at home. It robs me of joy, friendships, being able to do activities with my children, being able to go to church...the list is endless. 

The stigma attached to mental health issues seems to be lifting a little, but it's still really scary to put this out there - to tell the world how I feel (although, depression takes away the ability to feel anything.) You might remember my word for this year is Courage, so this is my bit of bravery which will hopefully encourage others to open up about their own mental health. 

There is hope and there is help. I have had happy times in the last 20 years, times when I wasn't on medication, so I know I can be well again. I have to remember that This Too Shall Pass. 

I have found Zentangle profoundly important over the last few years - I find peace in the pen strokes and comfort in the shading. My worries and fears cannot find head space whilst I'm in the Zen of drawing. 

The first drawing is one that I've done today and the others are old ones - all with quotes that really resonate with me. 

N

 

This website has so much useful and helpful information - Blurt

The Samaritans are always available in a crisis - Samaritans Contact Info

Here's the link to the official Zentangle page - Zentangle Method